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Writing into the Ether

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So last weekend, I dressed as Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time for MCM Comic Con. This day was pretty significant to me in lots of ways. First, I wore a costume to a convention for the first time. Second, I met one of the YouTubers I admire. And third, I had some kinda weird exhaustion breakdown. All fun!

Being Princess Bubblegum

Onto the good stuff! Being Princess Bubblegum was exciting and a bit of a rush. I have dressed up for so many parties with friends in the past, but never played a character at a place like MCM Comic Con. I felt like I wanted to impress people and that also added some pressure!

The BEST (most nerve-wracking) part was travelling on the train to London in my costume. I am so surprised I didn’t get any weird looks or mean comments, particularly in my home-town, but as I got closer to the convention more and more people in costume surrounded me on the tube and I felt more at ease!

People were approaching me for pictures which was a great feeling. I even met some banana guards and another Princess Bubblegum and took the opportunity to get a picture with them. Other than this one princess running a stall, I hadn’t run into a single other PB in the whole event which was cool (and meant I didn’t feel even more pressured!)

Meeting Tom Ridgewell

Now onto the core of the event; meeting Tom Ridgwell (aka TomSka). He was probably the only reason I went to this particular convention, as one of my goals for before I turn 30 was to meet someone I admire. I watch his “Last Week” vlogging series (hence the title of this post), and he is probably one of the more honest YouTubers I watch. He doesn’t cut out his issues and present a perfect characterisation of himself for his audience.

Above all he is really funny, and that’s something I really value in people. The ability to make people laugh. It’s something most of my friendships have been built on. However, when I met Tom that day and I stood in the queue, I noticed the blank look in between the smiles his fan’s cameras. I wanted to check he was okay.

So up I walked, this real-talking 28 year old in a Princess Bubblegum costume. I wanted to give him a break from the screaming 15 year old girls and their fake panic attacks. And at this point I forget that he doesn’t even know me because I feel I know so much about him.

Then I realise, they just meet you for a fleeting moment even though they make such an impression on you. Perhaps I was a little forward but, I decided to talk to him as I would anyone I saw struggling and just try to chat with him like a human… I wanted to be someone real, despite the costume. Hopefully that came across, but who knows.

Feeling the Effects

I don’t know whether I was exhausted or just over-stressed but whatever the cause… I had a bit of a meltdown. Just a mental blackout where I couldn’t really take anything in! It made me just float around the rest of the convention without a second glance at anything.

It felt like tunnel vision and as soon as I got home I fell asleep and have taken a full week to recover enough to feel well enough to write this post. I hope to just not put myself in that kinda situation again… I think next time I will stick to Birmingham Comic Con as it’s close by, more casual and it will give me more prep time and less travel time!

A few more pics of my costume (before I stopped feeling SUPER AWKWARD!)

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13 thoughts on “Last Week Princess Bubblegum met TomSka”

You look awesome! Glad you had a good time, and that you’ve recovered from the mental exhaustion.
The pictures from these conventions always make it look a lot of fun, which I’m sure it is, but it’s refreshing to hear a personal take on it and dealing with how draining it is, physically and mentally. You go girl <3

I’ve never watched TomSka before, but I’ll be checking out his channel today. I’m always looking for YouTubers/vloggers that keep things on the real side.

Your Prince Bubblegum cosplay is so cute! You look wonderful. Conventions (and especially cosplaying at conventions) can be so exhausting. Big or small, I find myself having to find a quiet space at every gathering I go to just to recharge 😴

Aw thank you! His second channel, Darksquidge is where he has all his vlogs and a new series called “Content” – he’s very funny generally, even though his sketches on his main channel are a bit more silly / kiddy!

Thanks so much for the compliments too! And definitely they are very overwhelming at times!